I would like to repot my capensis soon, I am leaving for awhile Saturday and leaving the feeding and watering up to the family so I would like fresh and clean soil to reduce complications. I am having a very difficult time looking for small bags of sphagnum peat. I found beach sand at Lowes that I think is suitable, but Idk where to get the peat or whatever else is necessary. The only places close are Straders garden centers and Oakland nurseries, also Lowes and Home Depot but I cannot find what I need. Any help would be great, I'm new at this and it seems this town is happy to sell CP's but not what you need to care for them. Thank you
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Having issues looking for soil
Dragoness
For the love of Science!
Zath
Enthusiastic Enthusiast
You are correct about the sand, but it still works in a pinch (or if you can't find local supplies of blasting sand).
I also agree about buying the peat in bulk. I've never seen unfertilized peat outside of a 4 cubic meter bale. But you might be able to find a small bag of sphagnum and try planting it in that. It is a capensis...it shouldn't be too too picky.
I found some in a 10 qt bag. Brand name Hoffman. Says only 100% Canadian sphagnum peat moss. Now for the other agent. I don't like the look of perlite, are there any recommendations on an alternative? Unfortunately I'm on a time crunch, not like I'm suggesting anything to you all, you've been very helpful. I'm just an idiot and don't plan these things very well. I would by bulk peat but 85 compressed cubic feet is impractical, not to mention storage in my studio...
Zath
Enthusiastic Enthusiast
The Hoffman brand might be a locational thing. I haven't seen it in the Carolina's region.
As for an alternative to perlite (and since you're on a time crunch), maybe try Aquatic Plant Substrate? There are different brands, but the stuff you can find at most pet stores will work for drainage, so long as it's rinsed very, very well prior to mixing into your media.
These are just my opinions, and what I've done when I needed something I wasn't prepared for.
I just give playground sand a good rinsing (3-4 times) and add in less than the recommended 50:50 solution, which seems to work better on larger size granules. My mixes are more like 70:30 Peat / Sand. It's a little more saturated, but everything I've planted in it seems happy.
The only reason I add less is to try and avoid compaction and clumps of sand, which is easy to do with fine-grained playground sand.
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Bio
Plant Whisperer
Zath
Enthusiastic Enthusiast
I'll have to check that out next time I'm visiting NC. I've been having a hard time finding silica blasting sand, and the shipping charges online are out of the question.
I would caution you against repotting a plant just before you leave town for a time, leaving it in the care of someone else. Why? Because if it reacts badly to repotting, your interim caregivers probably won't know what to do if the plant starts looking peaky. Why not wait till you return and then you can invest time to locate the right materials. Several of the mail order CP nurseries sell premixed soils appropriate for specific genera, and if all you have is one D. capensis, its a shame to buy a 2 cu ft. bale of peat and a forty pound bad of pool filter sand to make two cups of soil mix. Know what I mean?
You buy small bags of "Black Gold" Sphagnum Peat Moss at OSH. Generally this is very good quality stuff. You can buy a small brick of Better-Gro Orchid Moss (it is Sphagnum moss) at Lowes. A D. capensis will be perfectly happy in straight peat moss or long fiber sphagnum moss.
If you can find it at Lowe's or Home Depot Quikrete commercial grade sand is silica sand. Get the coarse grade if you can find it. The medium and fine grades are too fine. A 50lb bag of sand sounds like a lot but sand is very dense and the bag is about the size of a large bed pillow. It doesn't go bad so you can just stash the bag out of the way somewhere. Your collection will grow and you will use it eventually.
If you can find it at Lowe's or Home Depot Quikrete commercial grade sand is silica sand. Get the coarse grade if you can find it. The medium and fine grades are too fine. A 50lb bag of sand sounds like a lot but sand is very dense and the bag is about the size of a large bed pillow. It doesn't go bad so you can just stash the bag out of the way somewhere. Your collection will grow and you will use it eventually.
Zath
Enthusiastic Enthusiast
Thumbs up on the "Orchid Moss". I read somewhere else that it's just Chilean Sphag. In quality I'd put it in-between Canadian (the baled stuff), and New Zealand Sphag. (If someone could clarify that statement, you'd be teaching me as well.)
You could use pumice which is a little denser than perlite.
Do you know what mesh size of sand is considered course? The coarsest grade of Quikrete I've been able to find is 20, which looks a little too fine for me. What mesh do you use?
I agree with this. Why repot? How long has it been in its current mix? It seems unnecessary, it should be fine in its current mix unless you'll be gone for a really really long time.
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
That's your best bet for sand, as well as 'Play Sand' at H.D. / Lowes, from the Building Materials section. I would skip the peat altogether and spend ~$5 for 'Orchid Moss', which is LFS. That's at Lowes. Don't use beach sand.
